Vancouver-based S2G BioChemicals Inc. is now producing bio-glycols at a commercial scale at a facility in Memphis. Production is being done by S2G Biochem’s partner, Pennakem LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Minafin Group.
The company’s biochemical conversion process was integrated into Pennakem's existing chemical facility in April 2016 and has produced industrial-grade sugar-based glycols from natural, non-food waste during a five-week scale-up campaign. The bio-glycols will be used as a drop-in replacement for common petroleum-based chemicals currently used in a wide range of consumer and industrial products such as resins, PET/PEF plastic drink containers, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, coolants and antifreeze.
Tom Waldman, president of Pennakem, said that he was impressed with the seamless integration of S2G Biochems’s bioconversion process into its existing chemical production infrastructure. The combination of each company’s respective strengths “will lower costs and could catalyze the demand for sustainably and economically produced bio-based glycols,” he added.
S2G Biochem's sugar-to-glycol technology is a simple, durable, and efficient process that utilizes low-cost renewable feedstocks to co-produce an economical supply of high value speciality chemicals and sustainable bio-glycols for use by consumer and industrial product manufacturers.
"The successful demonstration of S2G's bio-glycol process at scale validated the reliability and economic viability of our technology based on solid operational experience," said Mark Kirby, president and CEO at S2G BioChem. "While glycol supply has long been dominated by oil and natural gas, S2G has proven our ability to provide natural, fossil-free glycols that challenge petrochemical glycols on both cost and performance."
Canadian Green Tech spoke with Kirby earlier this year about the company’s innovative approach to bio-glycol production. You can read more HERE.
S2G Biochem also achieved three significant customer-based milestones during scale up campaign. These included successful product evaluations by multiple industrial customers; the sale of bio-glycols to an industrial resin plant; and, the production of sample quantities of United States Pharmacopeia (USP) quality propylene glycol (PG). These quantities have been reserved for select glycol customers who have expressed interest in sourcing high quality bio-glycols as a replacement for their petrochemical-derived sources.
"S2G bio-glycols have identical performance to petroleum-based materials, yet they generate far less greenhouse gas emissions," said Jeff Plato, director of corporate and business development at S2G Biochem. "S2G looks forward to its products being integrated into the value chains of multi-national consumer and industrial product companies who want to curtail petrochemical-use and provide more sustainable products for their customers."